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Angels of Wrath
The Angels of Wrath is a Successor Chapter of the Dark Angels and was numbered amongst the ranks of the Unforgiven. Though its Founding is unknown, they might have been created during the 10th Founding in the mid-35th Millennium, as by the 36th Millennium, they were still considered a young Chapter. During the Age of Apostasy, the seeds of the Angels of Wrath's destruction were sown due to the machinations of the insane High Lord Goge Vandire, during the Age of Apostasy. It is unknown if this Chapter still exists in the late 41st Millennium. Chapter History During the Age of Apostasy, terrible conflicts grew out of a political struggle between the Administratum and the Adeptus Ministorum for dominance over the Imperium. The struggle began when control over the Imperium's government was essentially seized by a single man, the High Lord of Terra, Goge Vandire, who commanded both the Administratum and the Ecclesiarchy and ruled the Imperium according to his own wishes instead of in accordance with the Emperor's will. Following his inauguration to the Senatorum Imperialis, the Imperium was torn asunder. Vandire wanted the Ecclesiarchy to consolidate its power and this meant that Imperial institutions that were traditionally exempt from its authority were now being brought to heel. Vandire wished to replace the Angels of Wrath's Chapter Chaplains with Ecclesiarchy Missionaries, to proselytise the divinity of the God-Emperor to the Astartes of the Chapter, and to allow the Ecclesiarchy easier control over them. The "proselytiation" of this relatively young Chapter was to have been an experiment, and an example. But the Angels of Wrath wanted none of it, for their loyalty was only to their Emperor and to the memory of their Primarch Lion El'Jonson. They opted to fight and die to a man, rather than have their ranks diluted by men who were not of their gene-seed. Decimation Enraged by the upstart Chapter's refusal to allow Ecclesiarchy representatives to be incorporated into their Chapter, Vandire sought to make an example out of the Angels of Wrath. Therefore, he sent a large fleet of zealous Frateris Templar forces to the Angels of Wrath's Chapter homeworld. When their fortress-monastery's long-range sensors detected a rapidly closing Imperial warfleet, every one of the one thousand warriors who comprised the Angels of Wrath Chapter had known exactly what the fleet represented -- Ecclesiastical retribution. By protesting against the Ecclesiarchy's proposal to replace the Chapter's company Chaplains with its own Imperial missionaries, the Angels of Wrath had signed their own death warrant. Soon the massive invasion fleet arrived and thousands of troop transports descended on the Chapter's fortress-monastery. The Angels of Wrath fought the zealot usurpers ferociously, but were soon overwhelmed by sheer numbers. As the walls of the fortress-monastery were breached, and the Angels of Wrath made their last stand, within a span of five solar hours since the attack commenced, ninety percent of the Chapter had fallen, including their Grand Master Tristan Dare. In the final hours of the epic battle, Captain Cornelius Makallan, commander of the Angels of Wrath's 10th Company, found himself the last commanding officer of his Chapter. Rather than face inevitable death at the hands of the zealots, Makallan ordered the remnants of the Chapter to evacuate. It was his fervent hope to bring word of Vandire's betrayal to the Dark Angels and their fellow Unforgiven Chapters, and someday return in force to seek out retribution against those who had brought them low. Making a fighting withdrawal through the waves of Frateris Templars, Makallan and the Angels of Wrath escaped to their last remaining vessel in orbit. Evading the incoming Ecclesiarchal fleet, they managed to make for the nearest Mandeville Point and make a jump into the Warp, escaping Vandire's wrath. Following their retreat and the destruction of the Angels of Wrath, Vandire enacted an Edict of Obliteration. The Angels of Wrath suffered the ignominious fate of Damnatio Memoriae or "condemnation of memory", the policy of the deliberate destruction of icons and other symbols, monuments or references pertaining to the upstart Chapter. It would be as if the Angels of Wrath never existed, and by doing so, they ensured the recalcitrant Chapter was forgotten by the wider Imperium. Return During their sojourn through the Immaterium, Captain Makallan took stock of their dire situation. The majority of the survivors who managed to escape the Ecclesiarchy's wrath were mostly made up of Scout Marines of his own company. Their command structure had been decimated, and they had lost the majority of their armour, weapons and vehicles. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and therefore, Makallan began to reorganise the remnants of his Chapter around the strengths of his Scouts and formed them into squadrons that were combat-ready. After what was estimated to have been a standard-year-long sojourn through the Warp, the remaining Angels of Wrath Battle Barge exited into realspace near the sun of the Death World of Meggidio Primus. Captain Makallan soon responded to Imperial hailing frequencies and contact with the Astartes was made quickly by the world's Planetary Governor Ezbesde Konnar, from the Megiddio's lone settlement, known as Metroplex. Konnar had taken an enormous gamble, as the crew of the mysterious vessel could well have been turned to Chaos by their prolonged voyage through the Warp, but the governor's intuition had not let him down. The brave defenders of humanity who had boldly sailed through the sea of pure Chaos were unaware that what had seemed like a journey of one Terran year had in fact taken them 4,000 standard years into the future. Vandire was now long dead, and the Angels of Wrath's quest for vengeance would never be truly sated. Governor Konnar had neglected to supply them with this information. The Angels of Wrath were so consumed with a burning desire to avenge themselves on the Ecclesiarchy for what had been done to their Chapter, the Planetary Governor could do nothing but sympathise. Several solar months earlier, Konnar had not been so fortunate. His title and position were a joke. The faceless Keepers of the Faith, who rarely left the confines of the Imperial Chapel, kept the people in thrall and the Arbitrators of the Adeptus Arbites were their watchdogs. Might was right on Megiddio Primus and Konnar's Planetary Defence Force was no match for the highly trained troopers of the Adeptus Arbites. But with the fortunate encounter with the Angels of Wrath's survivors, Konnar now had an entire company of Space Marines at his beck and call, thanks to a one in a trillion chance encounter. It seemed to him that the Emperor did indeed help those who helped themselves. Playing on the Astartes' hatred of the Ecclesiarchy, Konnar requested the Space Marines' aid in removing the authority of the Ministorum who held sway over his world, which would allow him to regain full control. Unknowingly believing that Vandire and the corrupt Ecclesiarchy's tyranny still held sway over much of the Imperium, Captain Makallan readily agreed to assist the beleaguered Planetary Governor. Covert X Once the surviving Angels of Wrath arrived on the planet's surface, they began a seven-month long underground guerrilla campaign to weaken the hold of the corrupt Ecclessiarchy on Megiddio Primus. Believing themselves to be striking a blow against Vandire, Makallan called his Scout force "Covert X," and had his Chapter's lone Librarian, Epistolary Julius Zenobi, begin to preach seditious propaganda against the evils of the Ministorum and the seeds of corruption they sowed, as their evil was killing the Emperor. His own Church was sucking the life from His blessed body. To speak out against the Adeptus Ministorum was to curse the Emperor Himself, the Marshal of the Arbites reminded the people of Megiddio Primus every day in a hundred different, but equally brutal ways. Despite the blasphemy being preached by the Librarian, his skilled oratory drew large crowds, spreading resentment and thoughts of rebellion, but also brought them in conflict with the Adeptus Arbites of Metroplex. Despite the Arbites' best efforts to bring down the rebellion, Covert X caused the majority of the population to rise up and riot against the Church, which had held the population under its heel for too long. When the Arbites were thoroughly distracted by the city-wide rebellion, Captain Makallan brought his forces to strike against the Cathedral, the Ecclesiarchal stronghold on Megiddio Primus. But unknown to Makallan, the Ecclesiarchy had somehow learned of his intentions, and just as he was about to give the order to attack, they were ambushed by a large force of Battle-Sisters of the Adepta Sororitas, who rushed out of the Cathedral and attacked the Scout Marines. Though they were thoroughly outnumbered and faced superior weaponry, the Space Marine commander refused to give the order to retreat. Instead, he gave the order to stand firm and attack, as he refused to retreat a second time before the forces of the Ecclesiarchy. The ultimate fate of the remaining members of the Angels of Wrath is not known in current Imperial records. Chapter Organisation Covert X Squads As the majority of the Angels of Wrath's command structure was utterly annihilated during their Chapter's decimation by Vandire's forces, Captain Makallan was forced to improvise and reorganise the remnants of his Chapter into an insurgent cell. Acting as a guerrilla force, they retained the basic composition of the 10th Company, as they were mostly made up of surviving Scout Marines that escaped their Chapter's destruction. *'Unit Composition' - 1-8 Scout Squads **'1 Sergeant' **'4 Scout Marines' Arkangel Scout Squads Arkangels were Covert X Scouts who had already received the required training and bio-surgery, including their Black Carapace, to become fully-fledged Battle-Brothers. But due to a lack of resources, and because of Covert X' unique modus operandi, the Arkangels were still equipped and deployed as standard Scouts. *'Unit Composition' - 2 Arkangel Scout Squads **'1 Sergeant' **'4 Arkangel Scout Marines' Notable Angels of Wrath *'Grand Master Tristan Dare' - The last Grand Master of the Angels of Wrath Chapter. He was killed during the decimation by the Ecclesiarchy when a massive Frateris Templar force attacked his Chapter's homeworld. *'Commander Cornelius Makallan' - Cornelius Makallan was the former Captain of the Angels of Wrath's 10th Scout Company before his Chapter's decimation at the hands of the Ecclesiarchy. As the sole surviving senior officer, Makallan has taken on the title of Commander but refuses the laurels of Grand Master as a mark of respect to his old friend Tristan Dare, the last Grand Master of the Angels of Wrath. Makallan is an espionage and close-combat specialist par excellence and is habituated to missions that most would consider suicidal. *'Captain Radfael' - One of the Angels of Wrath's Captains who died during the fighting within the Chapter's overrun fortress-monastery during the decimation. With his death, this left Makallan as the last commanding officer of the Chapter. *'Epistolary Julius Zenobi' - A Librarian assigned to the Angels of Wrath 10th Company, he is one of the few survivors who managed to escape the decimation of their Chapter. Specialising in propaganda and subversion, Zenobi was pivotal in turning the population of Megiddio Primus against the Ecclesiarchy and instigating the citizens' uprising in the Metroplex. *'Techmarine Aurellius Fabricus, "The Fixer"' - Brother Aurellius Fabricus was a Techmarine assigned to the Angels of Wrath's 10th Company. Even then he showed signs of borderline mental instability. Unfortunately the decimation occurred before this problem could be addressed. As an agent of Covert X, "The Fixer" has taken to "civilian" life with perhaps more enthusiasm than befits a Space Marine. *'Scout Sergeant Casus' - Casus serves as a Scout Sergeant and is one of the surviving members who escaped the destruction on their Chapter homeworld. *'Scout Sergeant Destitutus' - Destitutus serves as a Scout Sergeant and is one of the surviving members who escaped the destruction on their Chapter homeworld. *'Scout Sergeant Venabulum' - Venabulum serves as a Scout Sergeant and is one of the surviving members who escaped the destruction on their Chapter homeworld. Non-Astartes Personnel *'Buzbox' - Buzbox is an Ogryn who was held in an experimentation camp where he underwent artificial intelligence enhancement. At the same time, his captors were investigating captured Ork technology. This is generally acknowledged as a futile exercise since Ork engineering skill is passed on genetically and is practically incomprehensible to the human mind. However, in this instance a laboratory experiment yielded unexpected results. The melding of Buzbox' cybernetically altered mind to an Ork Force Field Projekta somehow imbued the Ogryn with the ability to create an impenetrable bubble of energy. The projection unit is extremely unstable, however, and prone to potentially lethal feed-back. Fortunately Buzbox' one and only friend, the Fixer, is often at hand to sort things out before the unit becomes dangerous. Buzbox is fiercely loyal to the Fixer and considers himself to be a key figure of Covert X. *'Tandi Chann' - Tandi is a young Callidus Assassin who has been roped into Governor Konnar's vendetta against the Ecclesiarchy. The Officio Assassinorum have not sanctioned her assignment and she does not carry all of the wargear normally issued by her temple. Chapter Appearance Chapter Colours The Angels of Wrath's Chapter colours are not listed in current Imperial records. Chapter Badge This Angels of Wrath's Chapter badge is not listed in current Imperial records. Sources *''The Citadel Journal'' 22, "Covert X - Stealth & Vigilance" by Wolfrik, pp. 49-81 es:Ángeles de la Ira Category:A Category:Dark Angels Category:Imperium Category:Space Marines Category:Unknown Founding Category:Space Marine Chapters